Day 49 : A song that would make you remember College Life

PIANO IN THE DARK

By Brenda Russel

Photo Source: http://www.shakedownrecords.com/

Scott Cuter and Jeffrey Hall composed the music for this song, then sent it to Brenda Russell, who added lyrics. The title came first, and the story followed. Says Russell, "I'm a person that collects song titles. You know, if I hear a good title, like talking to a friend or whatever, I'll write it down. I keep a little song title book. I always think that in every title there's a song somewhere, and you've just got to thin it out. So when they sent me this music, I thought, 'Whoa, it's so haunting and beautiful, I love that.' And I was flipping through my title book and I just thought, 'Piano in the Dark, I wonder if that would go with that music I heard?' That's as easy as that happened. I had that title and I thought, 'Hmmm, maybe that'll work.'  Says Russell, "I love it when it happens like that. You're not putting any rigid restrictions on how it's coming, you know, it's just boom - let's try that. Go for it, you know?" According to Russell, the song tells the story of a woman whose lover plays piano. "She wants to leave him, because she's really kind of bored. But every time she does that, he sits down and starts playing. And it sucks her right back in. She's so in love with the way he plays. And he plays in the dark, theoretically. It's not that literal, necessarily. But that's what keeps her to him, basically, is his music. And I just found that was an interesting story to write about." This is the only song performed by Russell that really made an impact on the American charts, although she has had more success on the international market. Her song "Get Here" was a huge hit for Oleta Adams in 1991. She also co-wrote the music and lyrics for the 2005 musical The Color Purple, which was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and presented by Oprah Winfrey. The Tony-award winning score blends jazz, blues and gospel of the early and mid 1900s with pop sensibilities. Russell's father, Gus Gordon, was a member of The Ink Spots.

Courtesy of http://www.songfacts.com/

This is one song that I vividly remember when I was in College. I love this song so much and I was able to sing it live with the band during one of the Band Festival in De La Salle University, Dasmarinas, Philippines. College life was a lot of fun, there may be some bumps along the way but I still would not trade every minute of it spent, to anything in the world! Experience and learnings are priceless!

Enjoy listening and click the link!

http://soundcloud.com/ohmigoodness/PIANO IN THE DARK